Algorithm-enabled Goals of Care Communication (NCT07690904)
Algorithm-Enabled Engagement of Patients With Advanced Cancer (A-EPAC) to Improve Goals of Care Communication Among Veterans With Advanced Stages of Cancer
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
In 2017, the VA launched the Life-Sustaining Treatment Decisions Initiative (LSTDI), a national program to promote Goals of Care communication between clinicians and patients regarding goals and preferences for care. Despite clinician training and standardized Life Sustaining Treatment (LST) notes in the electronic health record (EHR), 60% of Veterans with cancer have not engaged in such communication with their oncology clinicians before death. Over the past 10 years, the team developed and tested: 1) a lay health worker-led intervention to improve these conversations and reduce unwanted, intensive end-of-life care, and 2) an algorithm-driven approach to identify patients in need of urgent conversations with their clinical teams. This randomized study will evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention combining these two approaches across 7 VA oncology sites. The outcomes include LST documentation, Veteran-reported anxiety and depression, and the identification of factors to inform broad scale of Veteran-centric interventions to improve GoC communication.
Who can join: Review the eligibility criteria below.
Location: VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA — Palo Alto, California
Age range: 18 Years
🧪 Interventions in This Study
- Usual Care (BEHAVIORAL)
- Usual Care + A-EPAC (BEHAVIORAL)
📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener
Instant ChecklistFull eligibility criteria are available on the official NIH protocol. View the criteria ↗
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (1 Sites)
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA — Palo Alto, California
📞 Contact the Study Coordinator
Phone: (650) 493-5000
Email: Manali.Patel2@va.gov
Coordinator details come directly from the registered NIH protocol. Confirm the study is still recruiting before traveling.
💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights
- 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
- Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
- Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.
More studies in Cancer
- Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation in Children — Rochester, Minnesota
- A Study in Patients Previously Enrolled in a Genentech and/or F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd Sponsored Atezolizumab Study — Aurora, Colorado
- Ex Onc SLED: A Study Utilizing A Weighted Sled for Horizontal Resistance Training — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- An Internet-based Program to Help Cancer Survivors Manage Pain — Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Identification of Patients With Age-Related Clonal Hematopoiesis (ARCH) Among Cancer Survivors — Toronto, Ontario
- Researching the Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cancer — Los Angeles, California
Explore by condition: All Cancer clinical trials
💡 How to Participate
- Check the checklist above to see if you may qualify.
- Contact the study coordinator using the phone/email above.
- Ask about the visit schedule, what is covered at no cost, and any travel support.
- Confirm with your own doctor before making a decision.